The most important things to consider are quality and comfort, especially if you plan to spend any amount of time on your sofa. The best looking sofa in the whole world cannot measure up to the most comfortable one. That is why you need to test drive one before you buy, just the way you would test drive a car.​

When testing for fabric, you should also check to see if it wrinkles easily or stretches. If it wrinkles easily, it will be difficult to maintain its looks for a long time. Sagging fabric will make it look dilapidated very quickly. Call it a sleeper sofa, or sofa bed, this is one of the most functional pieces of furniture you can own. Having a sleeper in your living room rather than a sofa might be one way to overcome space limitations, if you have them. It lets you turn any room into a guest room, or even a bed room for yourself if you live in a studio apartment.

It makes sense to reupholster if your sofa is very high quality or has an unusual frame. Quite possibly, the cost of reupholstering it would be less than buying a new sofa of comparable quality. This is not very often the case, but it is possible you may have a perfectly good sofa that can be brought back to life by just re-covering with a new fabric.